Today everyone is remembering the movie, ‘Back to the Future’. Today is the day Marty McFly arrives from the past. Not a big deal for me, but it did give me pause to look back at what I was doing when that movie came out and see how far I’ve come. In 1985, I was still in grade school – still fours years away from joining the track team and other sports teams. I had yet to build any muscle or run over 25 miles in a week.

Fast forward 30 years, I’ve increased my running mileage dramatically. Last week, I hit over 40 miles for the first time ever. I hit 46 miles on a 8+ miler with my Ragnar team on a training run at the Tempe Town lake, which included a run up and down ‘A mountain’. This is what it looked like: http://go.nike.com/1r7v0fb

Admittedly, I’m sore, I feel a little deflated, but I feel strong and my mind stays focused. This is definitely a different feeling than when I solely hit the weights. I think I like it.

BUT… My next event is the Tough Mudder. So the WOD today and Friedy is focusing on upper body and core strength.

Here we go!

WOD 10-21-15

Warm up: Jump rope (5 mins, followed by a warm up stretch)

Main set – 4 sets of

Pullups

Pushups

Plank – 1 minute

Mountain climbers

Burpees

Spend one minute on each exercise, then

Plyometric pushups (clapping pushups without clapping)

My variation is to place a weight ball under one hand, then execute the pushup so my opposite hand lands on the ball. Repeat it to complete the set.

Standing dumbbell curls

The standing variation requires core concentration

rest

Again, one minute each.

That’s it!

The intensity is up to you because you’re aiming for time, not reps. You can keep going when you start feeling the fatigue or you can stop – the decision is yours, as are the results.

“You can never cross the ocean if you don’t have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

…Not sure where this is going, but just get your workout done…” – me

I’ve been on the road for about five hours today. Ran early this morning. Visited the Kartchner Caverns in Benson, AZ. Ran a few errands. Made dinner for the kids. Now I’m stretching out to get this WOD done. After I’m done, my day won’t even be over yet.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I have a full life, just like many of you do, but if I can find time to get my WOD done, so can you.

Let’s go!

WOD 10-14-15

Warm up: 5 min brisk walk or light jog, then stretch.

Main set: (Use light weights, with emphasis on the word, LIGHT)

Deadlifts: 25 reps

Front Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Side Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Seated Rows: 14 reps

Deadlifts: 25 reps

Front Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Side Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Seated Rows: 14 reps

Deadlifts: 25 reps

Front Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Side Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (both arms at the same time): 25 reps

Seated Rows: 14 reps

Rear Dumbbell Shoulder Raises (one arm at a time): 50 reps

***I used 135lbs for the deadlifts, 12lb dumbbells for the shoulder raises, and varied between 150 and 180lbs for the seated cable rows. I cannot stress it enough to use a weight that is light for you.***

Cooldown: Hydrate and stretch!

This is not timed. Just keep moving on to the next rep. Don’t stop and you’ll find you’re MUCH stronger than your brain was telling you…

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. ” -Walter Elliott

I got two of my intended runs in this weekend. Total of 15 miles. I felt good, overall. I focused on breathing and proper running form instead of speed, but focusing on those two things made my average run times about 30-45 seconds faster per mile! With the McDowell mountain Ragnar coming up and the next XTERRA trail race both coming up soon, I’m feeling good about my progression.

Time to change it up…

This little WOD is about as simple as it gets. You can do it for time. You can do it to focus on form. Me, I’m doing it because my body needs to work through the recovery from the run this morning. So… We got this – LET’S GO!Warm-up:Jump rope (5 minutes)

Main set: (5 sets)

20 Push-ups

20 Body weight squats

20 Burpees

20 Crunches

Cool down:Stretch (and hydrate)!
That’s it! I’ll be going on a run tomorrow morning. See you on Wednesday!

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” ~ William Barclay

Time to run…

My next event is the Tough Mudder in Temecula, CA at the end of the month. My overall strength is actually pretty good. I’m satisfied with my ability to climb ropes, scale walls, and ‘face all my fears’ during the event. My weakest link has always been running. So… today, tomorrow, and Sunday… I’ll be running.

WOD 10-9-15

RUN!

Always take time to warm up with a good 10-15 minute brisk walk or light jog. At the very least, start your run out at a very light pace. Then take a little time to stretch out your muscles while they’re warm.

Main set:

Try aiming for distance or time.

Focus on your form, breathing, and consistent pace.

Push when you can, but listen to your body – how it feels at the pace you’ve taken.

Remember to re-hydrate and recover with a good stretch and a good meal within two hours of finishing.

I can definitely tell I’ve dropped my last 5lbs for race season… Running at 185lbs makes a huge difference for me – not necessarily with time, but in how I feel during and after my runs. It also makes it easier to get the following WOD done.

I ran the 8K XTERRA trail race yesterday morning in the Estrella mountains, southeast of Phoenix.

I felt good, but I didn’t push 100% on the hills and I missed getting into the top 10. In fact, my time of 49:22 was 14 seconds slower than the 10th place runner in my age group.

Going up the hills on the back side of the course, there were a few areas where the track opened up just enough that I could have run past the string of 8 or 10 runners ahead of me.

…but I didn’t, and that is what made the difference of me getting not getting into the top 10.

I do these races to gauge where I am in my prep for the OCR event series I run, namely the Spartan race series and the Tough Mudder events around the country. I think I used that rationale as my excuse to not push harder. In the end, I regretted it because I knew I could do it and just didn’t.

At any rate, I realized I’ve still got a ways to go to being where I want/need to be for the rest of the races this year.

Admittedly, I was sore this morning… so the WOD I performed just forced me to get me moving. It’s as intense as you make it – you vs you.

Here we go…

WOD 10-5-15

Warm up: Jump rope (5 minutes)

Main set:

Perform 1 minute of each exercise, with 10 second rest in-between:

Plank

Pushups

Mountain climbers

Burpees

Air Squats

Burpees

Mountain climbers

Pushups

Plank

Crunches

REPEAT the sequence three times (minimum)

That’s it! Cool down with sufficient stretching, re-hydrate, then get a good meal in you.

I’ll be running the canals in the AM with my boy, Scotty… It’ll be a good time!

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. -William A. Ward

XTERRA on Sunday! I’ll be going on a run later today, but the WOD today is the Crossfit benchmark WOD, “Cindy”! Some people hate Cindy, but it’s a timed workout against yourself so, really, it’s possible they’re afraid of their scores.

It gets tough in the middle, but you need to know what it feels like to hit a ‘limit’ and learn how to push through it. So when you get to that point, “you can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.”

You got this.

WOD – 10-2-15

Warmup: Jump rope – 5 minutes

“Cindy”
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

STRETCH OUT and hydrate!

I hope you have a great weekend. I’ll post my race time on twitter at @theCanaPino

I feel like hell today. I didn’t really perform well with the ‘Angie’ workout on Monday, but it felt good to pound through that workout.

I’m climbing Camelback with a 35lb kettlebell this morning with my friend, Ben. He’s the guy who first got me into Obstacle Course racing. It’s going to be a brutal climb, but it’s such a great workout.

The next race season begins for me this Sunday with the first race in the XTERRA Trail Race series here in AZ. Today’s WOD will help give me good idea of where my cardio is… I’ll be doing this one later on this evening after I recover from the climb.

WOD – 9-30-15

Get to your nearest highschool football field for today’s WOD!

Warm up with a 1 mile warm up jog (4 times around the track)

Main Set

Run up and down each of the bleacher columns.

Run once around the track for time.

Jump up the columns, one step at a time, then walk/run down the bleacher columns

Run once around the track for time (aim for the previous time, or better)

Take the steps, two at a time, up and down each of the bleacher columns

Run once around the track for time (aim for the previous time, or better)

Jump up the columns, two steps at a time, then walk/run down the bleacher columns

Run once around the track for time (aim for the previous time, or better)

That’s it! 😀

I cannot stress the importance of making sure you stretch out, re-hydrate, and replace your glycogen stores with a good meal within the next 30-60 minutes…

The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.
– Woodrow Wilson

Obstacle Races aren’t for the ‘pure runner’. I’m not a natural runner – I stink at running. It’s one reason I love obstacle races – there are parts that require feats of physical strength (which I don’t stink at performing). The way I maintain my strength while running so much, is by WODs like this one.

This is the workout I do once or twice a month to test my upper body strength, stamina, and endurance. After running so much, it also forces me out of my comfort zone.

During this WOD you’ll struggle, your muscles will burn, and the high repetition scheme will make you want to stop.

You can stop anytime during the workout, but the point of it is to make you feel uncomfortable and find out what it’s like to push past those conceived limits when your muscles begin to burn. Why? Because it happens during obstacle course races.The best way to deal with limitations is to reach them during training and figure out how to surpass them each time.

Your brain will suggest that you stop, but you need to believe your body is capable of so much more than you think it is. There is no time limit. Go slow and steady, and just focus on your breathing and form, and power through the workout.

The goal is to complete the workout without stopping. Adjust the weight accordingly to you, but keep the reps.